What's happening
This bill creates the crime of "aggravated criminal conduct," making repeated misdemeanor offenders subject to felony charges after multiple convictions.
Why it matters
Escalates penalties for repeat offenders. By allowing certain repeat misdemeanor offenders to be charged with a felony, this bill dramatically increases the potential jail time and legal consequences for individuals with a pattern of criminal behavior, potentially acting as a stronger deterrent or a pathway to longer incarceration.
Targets specific types of prior convictions. Only prior convictions for class A misdemeanors or felonies (within New York or comparable crimes from other jurisdictions) within the past ten years count toward triggering the new felony charge, focusing the law on those with more serious or repeated offenses—not all misdemeanors or minor infractions.
Includes detailed safeguards and exceptions. The bill excludes convictions pardoned on grounds of innocence, treats multiple convictions sentenced at the same time as a single conviction, and extends the look-back period for time spent incarcerated—aiming to ensure fairness and avoid overly broad application.
May impact criminal justice reform efforts. This move to “felony up” repeat misdemeanors could have significant implications for jail populations, recidivism, and rehabilitation, potentially clashing with recent efforts in New York and elsewhere to reduce incarceration rates for non-violent offenses.
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Who cares
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Tougher Penalties for Repeat Offenders
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
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History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1393
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 14, 2019
Introduced by Sen. TEDISCO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law and the penal law, in relation to enacting the "chronic criminal act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "chronic criminal act".
§ 2. Subdivision 8 of section 180.60 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 307 of the laws of 1975, is amended to read as follows:
8. Upon such a hearing, only non-hearsay evidence is admissible to demonstrate reasonable cause to believe that the defendant committed a felony; except that reports of experts and technicians in professional and scientific fields and sworn statements, forms or records of the kinds specified in subdivisions two [and], three and three-a of section 190.30 of this part are admissible to the same extent as in a grand jury proceeding, unless the court determines, upon application of the defendant, that such hearsay evidence is, under the particular circumstances of the case, not sufficiently reliable, in which case the court shall require that the witness testify in person and be subject to cross-examination.
§ 3. Subdivision 2-a of section 190.30 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 453 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
2-a. When the electronic transmission of a certified report, form or record, or certified copy thereof, of the kind described in subdivision two or three-a of this section or a sworn statement or copy thereof, of the kind described in subdivision three of this section results in a written document, such written document may be received in such grand jury proceeding provided that: (a) a transmittal memorandum completed by
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05186-01-9
S. 1393 2
the person sending the report, form or record contains a certification that the report, form or record has not been altered and a description of the report, form or record specifying the number of pages; and (b) the person who receives the electronically transmitted document certifies that such document and transmittal memorandum were so received; and (c) a certified report, form or record or a certified copy or sworn statement or sworn copy thereof is filed with the court within twenty days following arraignment upon the indictment; and (d) where such written document is a sworn statement or sworn copy thereof of the kind described in subdivision three of this section, such sworn statement or sworn copy thereof is also provided to the defendant or his counsel within twenty days following arraignment upon the indictment.
§ 4. Subdivision 3-a of section 190.30 of the criminal procedure law, as added by chapter 453 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
3-a. A sex offender registration form, sex offender registration continuation/supplemental form, sex offender registry address verification form, sex offender change of address form, criminal history record, or a copy of such form or record, maintained by the division of criminal justice services concerning an individual who is the subject of a grand jury proceeding, may, when certified by a person designated by the commissioner of the division of criminal justice services as the person to certify such forms or records, as a true copy thereof, be received in such grand jury proceeding as evidence of the facts stated therein.
§ 5. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.80 to read as follows: § 240.80 Aggravated criminal conduct.
1. A person is guilty of aggravated criminal conduct when such person commits a class A misdemeanor defined in this chapter after having been previously subjected to three or more qualifying misdemeanor or felony convictions within the preceding ten years.
2. The provisions of section 200.60 of the criminal procedure law shall apply to any prosecution under this section.
3. For the purposes of this section, in determining whether a person has been previously subjected to three or more qualifying misdemeanor or felony convictions within the preceding ten years, the following criteria shall apply:
(a) Each conviction must have been in this state of a class A misdemeanor defined in this chapter or of a felony, or of a crime in any other jurisdiction for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment of at least one year or a sentence of death was authorized and is authorized in this state irrespective of whether such sentence was imposed;
(b) Sentence upon each such prior conviction must have been imposed before commission of the present misdemeanor;
(c) Suspended sentence, suspended execution of sentence, sentence of probation, sentence of parole supervision, and sentence of conditional discharge or of unconditional discharge shall be deemed to be a sentence;
(d) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this subdivision, each sentence must have been imposed not more than ten years before commission of the present misdemeanor;
(e) In calculating the ten year period under paragraph (d) of this subdivision, any period of time during which the defendant was incarcerated for any reason between the time of commission of any of the previous convictions and the time of commission of the present misdemeanor
S. 1393 3
shall be excluded and such ten year period shall be extended by a period or periods equal to the time served;
(f) An offense for which the defendant has been pardoned on the ground of innocence shall not be deemed a previous misdemeanor or felony conviction;
(g) When multiple sentences for two or more convictions were imposed at the same time, all convictions shall be deemed to constitute only one conviction.
4. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to preclude a prosecution or conviction for any other offense, a necessary element of which is a previous conviction for an offense.
Aggravated criminal conduct is a class E felony.
§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the criminal procedure law and the penal law, in relation to enacting the "chronic criminal act"
Purpose or general idea of bill
To strengthen the existing law by creating the crime of aggravated crim- inal conduct, enabling courts to impose felony sanctions on chronic misdemeanor offenders, thereby enhancing public safety.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 states the short title of the bill.
Read the full memo (761 words)
Sections 2 amends section 180.60 of the Criminal Procedure Law to include criminal history records among the types of records that are admissible in hearings upon felony complaints.
Section 3 amends subdivision 190.30 (2-a) of the Criminal Procedure Law to allow electronic transmissions of criminal history records in evidence, in hearings upon felony complaints, and in grand jury proceedings.
Section 4 amends subdivision 3-a of section 190.30 of the Criminal Procedure Law to include criminal history records among the types of records admissible in a grand jury proceeding.
Section 5 adds a new section 240.80 to the penal law, creating the new crime of Aggravated. Criminal Conduct, a Class E felony, A person would commit the crime of Aggravated Criminal Conduct when he or she: (1) commits an A misdemeanor defined in the Penal Law; and (2) has previous- ly been convicted of three or more qualifying misdemeanor or felony crimes in the preceding ten years.
For the purposes of this section, a qualifying misdemeanor or felony conviction is one: (1)that is a conviction of a felony crime or a Class A misdemeanor defined in the Penal Law, or .of a crime in another juris- diction for which a sentence of at least one year was authorized if committed in New York State; (2)for which sentence has already been imposed at the time of the commission of the present misdemeanor offense(a suspended sentence, suspended execution of sentence, sentence of probation, sentence of parole supervision, unconditional discharge is deemed to be a sentence); (3) where the sentence was imposed not more than ten years before the commission of the present offense, except that periods of confinement toll the ten year limitation; (4) where the defendant has not been granted a pardon on the ground of innocence; and that is not a felony or Class A misdemeanor for which the defendant received a concurrent sentence for another qualifying misdemeanor or felony.
Justification
Under current law, offenders who are convicted of second or subsequent felony offenses receive enhanced penalties at sentencing; offenders who are convicted of second, third or more misdemeanors, do not. Despite the overall reduction in crime in New York State in recent years, repeat misdemeanants continue to plague our streets and our communities, often receiving little or no punishment for the offenses they continue to commit. A significant majority of those convicted of misdemeanors each year has at least one prior conviction, and disturbingly, a significant percentage has more than ten prior convictions.
Kareem Hayes admitted to stabbing and murdering Hillary Downey and her one-year old son in her Schenectady, New York apartment in January 2006. A habitual offender, Hayes had a lengthy record, including numerous misdemeanor convictions, at the time of the murders, including a misde- meanor conviction from January 2005, Had this bill been law in January 2005, Hayes could have been serving a prison sentence in January 2006 and this terrible crime could have been avoided.
This legislation creates the new Class E felony offense of Aggravated Criminal Conduct and appropriately punishes those who repeatedly commit misdemeanor offenses. Under this bill, an offender who commits his fourth misdemeanor or felony offense, after having been previously convicted of three or more misdemeanors or felonies within the previous ten years, will be punished as a Class E felon and face up to four years in state prison.
To ensure proper handling of these cases involving repeat misdemeanor offenders, the bill provides that criminal history records, when certi- fied by the Commissioner of the Division of Criminal Justice Services or his designee, shall be admissible in felony hearings and grand jury proceedings. The current system has allowed persistent misdemeanor offenders to continue to commit crimes with little reason to fear seri- ous sentencing consequences. Our citizens should not be subject to the many quality of life crimes committed by these repeat offenders. Like repeat felons, repeat misdemeanor offenders must face enhanced penalties if our efforts to deter crime is to be successful.
Prior legislative history
02/03/17: S.4148 REFERRED TO CODES 01/03/18: S.4148 REFERRED TO CODES
Fiscal implications
Undetermined
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.